YAYOI Palo Alto — Restaurant in Palo Alto

3.5 stars. This is not a bad place, but you need to set realistic expectations. Upon arriving at the entrance, it would be easy to assume this is one of those small high end Japanese eateries with limited seating, offering transformative, exceptional food. You then begin to (just ever so slightly) question your assumption when the greeter going out of the way to make sure you do all ordering and question via the tablet on your table - basically very limited human interaction. This is all fine, as many highly rated restaurants in Japan use automated ordering system as well. Then the food came. We ordered the Oyakodon and Sukiyaki, with Chawanmushi and Gyoza. The food are perfectly ok. Nothing wrong with them at all. They just don't really stand out. For example, good Gyoza would have really crunchy bottom and juicy filling inside. The ones we had did have some level of those qualities, but to be honest I have made crunchier and juicier frozen gyoza at home myself... This applies to the rest of the other dishes. Perfectly a decent meal, just not great. The place does offer some "high end" items on the menu like Unagi (Unadon). I did not try that but really wonder if this would be the right place to have that.

Just like in Japan, the place does not take tip, but you can leave a donation for charity in a jar by the door. I think this would be a great place for someone new to Japanese food. It would be a great intro point. The food is perfectly fine. For those true foodies though, you probably won't be terribly impressed by it as there isn't much that would differentiate it from other restaurants food wise. A good dining experience should leave one with a memorable impression. With YAYOI, my impression is that the place seems to emphasize its ordering system more so...

4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.

FOOD: Very good! Nicely cooked, flavorful, reasonable portion for lunch. Nitpicks: pork katsu wasn't melt-in-your-mouth like I've enjoyed it in Japan (why can't I ever find amazing pork katsu here in the U.S.?!). But everything else was on-point!

SERVICE: Surprisingly very good! Staffers came by at least 3 times during my meal to check that everything was good, and the guy at checkout asked as well. Water was brought very promptly and the food came out pretty quickly, too (but no, didn't taste 'from-frozen' :). That sort of attentiveness is what I'd expect from a "full service" restaurant and is way above what one gets at many fast-casual restaurants where you pick up your food and beverage.

AMBIENCE: Okay. A bit loud for my taste; some dampening on the ceiling / walls would be nice.

COST: About average for the Bay Area. My combo lunch (katsu, salmon salad, cooked salmon, rice, beef sukiyaki, edamame, and miso soup) came to about $30 total after tax and no tipping (since this is a no-tipping establishment). To put this in perspective, that's equivalent to a ~$23 item price at a regular U.S. restaurant.

I can't wait for more restaurants in the U.S. to adopt this model... tasty food, friendly and prompt service, and no-tipping. I was so delighted not to get the obsequious, "So how ARE we today, sir? Having a nice day? Ooo, wonderful choice, sir, you'll really enjoy that dish!" and so on. I just got to quietly order, and then casually enjoy my food over...

My husband and I like Yayoi for the food. We also like the minimalistic style of service (not for everyone)-- orders are placed through a tablet and you can keep track of your order progress as well. You only really encounter employees/servers and have to (briefly) talk to them when they seat you and when you are ready to pay your bill on the way out the door. (People do bring you the food but they are quiet and unobtrusive.) (If you want help or would like to talk to someone there is a way to indicate so via the tablet.) We like that the tip and everything is included so you pay what you see, just like you would in Japan. When you arrive you put yourself on their digital wait list, they text you when there is a spot, and you can answer yes or no.

Their food is delicious and you can tell they use high quality ingredients. The variety of rice they use is kinmemai, which sells for over $100/kg. The presentation is great too, as you would expect from a Japanese restaurant.

The only thing that may be hard to swallow for people who have lived in Japan are the prices. The food is definitely expensive, and much more so than a typical teishoku place would be in Japan. I lived in Japan for two and a half years so I definitely felt that, but the quality of the food and overall experience are worth it, I think.

Be prepared to spend a lot of time here. It does take awhile to get your food, and the service despite being minimalistic seems to take awhile for some reason. It didn't bother me too...